Cuba study abroad trip
canceled
By Jaime Griesgraber. The
Daily Northwestern, July 15, 2004.
Several students planning on being the
first to participate in an NU-affiliated
study abroad program in Cuba had to change
their plans after the trip had was canceled.
New State Department regulations impose
stricter limits on travel to Cuba in an
increased effort to push out Fidel Castro
and squeeze the island's economy, according
to the Associated Press.
"It's understandable when programs
are canceled for health reasons, like SARS,"
said William Anthony, director of NU's study
abroad office. "But this is very disturbing.
If you're a proponent of peace and international
understanding the last thing you do is close
borders."
Three NU students planning on studying
in Cuba during Fall Quarter have had to
change their plans and the four NU students
planning on going in the spring are waiting
anxiously to hear whether their trip also
will be canceled.
Morgan Engling, a Weinberg junior, said
she received an e-mail last week informing
her of the cancelation from the sponsoring
organization, Cooperative Programs in the
Americas (COPA), part of The Institute for
Study Abroad at Butler University.
"I was just so excited to see how
their society works," she said. "Cuba
is so misunderstood by Americans and I'm
disappointed that I'm not going to be able
to go. I doubt I'll ever have another chance."
The COPA Web site posts an explanation
saying that the new U.S. government regulations
are "effectively closing down most
programs, including the Institute for Study
Abroad's program ... This regrettable situation
is one that none of us could have predicted,
particularly on such short notice."
The new restrictions also change the number
of times Americans with relatives in Cuba
can visit their families -- from once a
year to once every three years.
Political Science Prof. Edward Gibson said
he sees no reason to further restrict travel
to Cuba. Gibson, who teaches a course on
Latin American politics, said the Cuban
government system is on its way out and
he doubts whether any constituencies in
the United States support these new regulations.
"In five years Cuba is going to be
a radically different place," he said.
"So in the short term (the regulations)
limit students' opportunity to expand culturally,
and in the long term it just doesn't make
sense.
"Basically this is the last gasp of
the U.S. government's attempt to isolate
Cuba. It's a shame that the government is
not allowing students to witness the final
years of the Cuban regime."
Engling is now planning on studying in
Merida, Mexico for the fall. She said COPA
has been helpful and COPA intends to pay
any out of pocket expenses she incurs due
to the switch.
She said she is excited to go to Merida
and that Mexico has some advantages over
the Cuba program, including a homestay with
a family.
"(Making the change) was just stressful,"
she said. "And I'm not mentally prepared
yet to go to Mexico. All I've been reading
about is Cuba."
Campus Editor Jaime Griesgraber is a Medill
junior. She can be reached at j-griesgraber@northwestern.edu.
© 2003
The Daily Northwestern
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